He gave her a smile that lit up the hallway. “It’s nice to meet you, Lisa. And might I say, you are looking lovely today.”

And he was polite. “Thank you.”

Remy stood between them, frowning down like he’d never seen two people shake hands before. “Shane, I think I heard your phone ringing. You left it in the apartment.”

Shane held her hand a moment longer before he shook his head. “Yeah, definitely. Gotta go see who that is. Catch you later, Ms. Lisa. I’m a friend of the big guy so I’m sure to be around.”

He let go of her hand and stepped back into the apartment, where absolutely no phone had gone off unless its ringer was tuned to dog hearing or something.

“He’s not a good friend, so don’t expect much. He lost a bet and had to help me move. You know how it is with guys,” Remy quipped, leaning back against the couch as though it was perfectly normal to have a conversation in the middle of the hall, a couch blocking most of the way. “I’m glad to see you here.”

“Why?” Oh, god. She’d said that out loud.

His face softened. “Because you’re a nice person to see. Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot.”

No. They’d gotten off on a foot that had been promptly shoved into Lisa’s mouth and way too far down her throat. It was a foot she’d been forced to chew on for months while she tried to get her confidence back.

She’d had a crush on the sexy Cajun ever since he’d been Laurel’s bodyguard during that time between Mitch getting her preggo and properly marrying her. For a week or so, Remy had been Laurel’s shadow, and Lisa had started dreaming about him. Then she’d gone through her training class at Sanctum and found out her dream man was also a Dom there. It had taken her months, but she’d worked up the courage to converse with him.

I’m not interested.

It was then she’d realized why human beings made shit up. I have a girlfriend. Oh, I’m so sorry, I have a cold tonight and can’t play. Aliens are coming and I need to go and find my laser gun. Hope you have fun tonight.

The truth hurt. The truth gutted and left one feeling empty and hollow for months. That tiny lie, even when blatant, was so much kinder than the brutality of truth.

“Not at all,” she assured him. “We simply don’t have friends in the same circles.”

And you weren’t interested in me.

“You haven’t been at the club much lately,” he pointed out.